B.Sc.

-III
Subject-Mathematics
Paper-Ist (Metric Spaces)
Lecture-I
Professor Sudhir Kumar Srivastava

Definition of a Metric Space :

Let X be a non-empty set. A function d: X x X R is said to be a 'metric' or a
'distance function' on X if it satisfies the following properties :
(i) non- negativity :
d (x,y) 0 for all x, y  X; ....(1)
(ii) identity :
d (x, y) = 0 if and only if x = y, i.e. if x and y are identical; ....(2)
(iii) symmetry :
d (x,y) = d (y, x) for all x, y  X ; ....(3)
(iv) triangle inequality :
d (x,z)  d (x, y) + d (y, z) for all x,y, z  X. ....(4)
Any non-empty set X together with a metric or distance function d defind on it
is said to be a 'metric space' and is usually denoted by (X,d).
Note : However, the non-negativity of the metric d follows from the other defining
properties :
Let x, y be arbitratily chosen elements of the set X. Then

d  x, y  
1
d x, y   d  y, x  , by summetry
2

d x, x  , by triangle inequality

1

2
= 0, by property (ii).
The properties (ii), (iii) and (iv) are together called 'metric axioms'.
Later we shall observe that several metrics can be defined on the same set. Truly
speaking, if there is one metric on a set, an uncountably infinite number of metrics can
be defined on the same set. This is why we denote the metric space by (X,d). In case,
there is no scope of confusion regarding the metric, we can write X instead of (X, d).
Examples of Metric Spaces
1. The discrete metric
Let X be any non-empty set. For x, y  X we define
1, if x  y;
d  x, x    .... (5)
0, otherwise.
Then one can easily check that (X, d) is a metric space. This metric is termed as
'discrete metric' or 'trivial metric' on the set X.
2. The usual metric on R
The absolute value (or modulus) of a real number x is denoted by

x  x, if x  0
| x |  x, if x  0

Equivalently one can say |x|=max {x,-x} or |x| = + x 2 . For any two real numbers x and
y we define a function d : R  R  R by
d(x, y) = |x - y|. ....(6)
By the definition of absolute value of a real number if follows that d(x, y) 0.
Also d(x, y) = 0 implies |x - y | = 0. A necessary and sufficient condition for the
vanishing of |x-y| is the equality of x and y,
i.e. d(x,y) =0 if and only if x = y.
Finally, for all x, y, x,  R,
d (x,z) = |x - z|
= |(x - y) + (z - z)|
|(x - y)| + |(y - z)|
= d (x, y) + d (y, z).

Combining the above conditions we claim that (R, d) is a metric space. This
metric d is named 'the usual metric on R'. This metric space (R, d) is called 'the
Euclidean line' or 'the real line'.

Note 1. For any positive real r, if we define another function h on R x R by

 h (x, y) =rd (x,y) = r|x - y| for all x,y  R,

Then we easily see that (R, h) is a metric space. This shows an uncountably
infinite number of distance functions can be defined or R.
Note 2. Alongwith all the members of R if we consider the elements '-' and '' such
that
- < x <  for all x  R.
then the set R U {-∞, is called the extended real number system.
3. Usual metric over the set of all complex numbers C
For any two complex numbers z1 = (x1, y1) and z2 = (x2, y2), let us define a
mapping d : C x C R by

d z1 , z2   z1  z2  z1  z2 2   y1  y2 2 , ...(7)

here we consider only the non-negative square root.

y z2 (x2, y2)

|z1 -z2| |y1 - y2|

|x1- x2|
z1 (x1, y1)

Fig. 1.
Since the sum of two squares of real numbers is non-negative, d(z1, z2) is real.
Since we consider only the non-negative square root, it is obvious that d(z1, z2) > 0 for
all z1, z2 C.
Also,

d z1 , z2   0  x1  x2 2   y1  y2 2 0

 x1 - x2 = 0 = y1 - y2
x1 = x2 as well as y1 = y2
z1 = z1.
Next, for all z1, z2 C,
 d (z1, z2) = |z1 - z2|

 x1  x2 2   y1  y2 2
 x2  x1 2   y2  y1 2
= |z2 - z1|
= d (z2, z1).
To prove the triangle inequality we proceed as follows :
We shall denote the complex conjugate of any complex number by putting a bar
over it. Let z' and z´ be any two complex numbers. Then,
z '  z"   z '  z" z '  z"
2

= z '  z" z '  z"

= z ' z '  z" z '  z ' z"  z" z"

= z '  z ' z"  z ' z"  z" , since for all z  C, z  z

2 2

= z'  z' z"  z' z"  z"

2 2

= z '  2 Re z ' z"  z"

2 2

 | z '|2  2 z ' z"  z" , since for all z  C , Re ( z )  | z |

2

= z '  2 z ' z"  z" , since z"  z"

2 2

= ( z'  z" )2 .

So, z'  z"  z'  z". Replacing z' and z" by z1 - z2 and z2 - z3 respectively, we get from

the above inequality.

|z1 - z2 + z2 - z3|  |z1 - z2| + |z2 - z3|
i.e., |z1 - z3|  |z1 - z2| + |z2 - z3|
i.e., d (z1, z3) d (z1, z2) + d (z2, z3).
This is true for all complex numbers z1, z2, z3. This proves the triangle inequality.
Therefore, (C,d) is a metric space. This metric is called the usual metric on C.
4. Usual metric on R2
By R2 or R x R we denote the set of all ordered pairs of real numbers.
For any two members x = (x1, x2) and y = (y1, y2) of R2 we define a mapping
 d : R2 x R2 R by

d ( x, y)  x1  x1 2   y2  y2 2 . .... (8)

By definition of d, it is clear that d (x,y) 0 for all x,y  R2.

(y1, y2)

x2 y2
(x1, x2) (y1, y2)
x1 y1

Fig. 2.

Next,

d ( x, y)  0  x1  y1 2  x2  y2 2  0
 x1  y1and x2  y2
 x  y.

Also for all x, y,  R2. Then

d ( x, y)  x1  y1 2  x2  y2 2
 y1  x1 2   y2  x2 2
= d(y, x).
Let u = (u1, u2) be any element of R2. Then

d ( x, u)  x1  u1 2  x2  u2 2
 x1  y1  y1  u1 2  x2  y2  y2  u2 2 .
Let us put v1 = x1 - y1, w1 = y1 - u1, v2 = x2 - y2, w2 = y2 - u2 and apply Minkowski's
inequality

 v1  w1 2  v2  w2 2  v12  v22  w12  w22 .

Then we get,
  x1  u1 2  x2  u2 2 .
 x1  y1 2  x2  y2 2   y1  u1 2   y2  u2 2
i.e., d(x, u)  d(x, y) + d(y, u) for all x, y, u,  R2
Thus the triangle inequality is satisfied.
Hence we conclude that d is a metric or R2. We call it the usual metric or
Euclidean metric on R2.